I can't convince Americans to buy gold: Cramer

Jim Cramer, former hedge fund manager and current host of CNBC's Mad Money, is a newly-converted gold bug and now one of the most vocal advocates for investing in the yellow metal.

At a recent New York fundraiser that attracts the sophisticated and high net worth crowd, Cramer wrote in an MSN Moneycommentary that only four out of the 200 attendees owned gold.Furthermore, as he began to describe why gold is a necessary cornerstone of a portfolio in these uncertain times, people thought he was a bit crazy and paranoid.

This skepticism among Americans, even rich and sophisticated ones, is just one more reason to buy right into the weakness.

Go buy more gold if you have some, and start a position today if you don't, said Cramer.

According to him, citizens in India, China, and worldwide are buying gold, but people in America are not.

He said he can't convince Americans that their government's choice to get this economy moving again is to debase its currency, so [they] need another currency.

Cramer is referring to the Federal Reserve's plan to inject $600 billion in newly-printed dollars into the financial system, which will likely dilute the purchasing power of existing dollars.

Last Thursday, he said the G20 summit was unlikely to stop world governments from competitively devaluing their currencies to boost exports, so investors should buy gold.

Cramer, who owns shares in gold miner NovaGold (AMEX:NG), said people should not stop buying gold until gold represents 5 percent of an average portfolio manager's holdings --currently that figure is only at 0.5 percent.

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